My son's former HS battery mate and long time friend Daniel "Jeff" Lucero died Monday from injuries sustained in a car accident this past weekend. Sam and Jeff first met and played baseball at age 9.
Jeff was a fierce competitor, and a true gentleman off the field. He earned the respect of all who knew him, friend and foe. Jeff will be missed.
Please pray for the Lucero family, and keep them in your thoughts during this most painful time. And please pray for the safety of all of the kids traveling during the holidays.
From the ABQ Journal-
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Lucero Leaves Trail of Friends
By Jessica Dyer
Journal Staff Writer
Valley High School baseball coach Chad Kuhn will never run out of good things to say about Jeff Lucero.
Kuhn said the 2007 Valley graduate succeeded in every way possible — he was a straight-A student in high school who excelled in baseball and was also beloved by his friends and teammates.
The coach said Lucero's potential at the college level and beyond made his death Monday from injuries suffered in a weekend traffic accident that much more tragic.
“He didn't get to fulfill his dreams, and that's so unfortunate, because Jeff had a bright future,” Kuhn said.
Lucero, a student and baseball player at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, was driving back to Albuquerque alone Sunday after a weekend trip to visit a friend in Durango, Colo.
His grandfather, Ralph Lucero, said Jeff hit a patch of ice near Cuba, lost control of the vehicle and was ejected.
Jeff was airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital where his condition worsened. He died Monday afternoon. He was 20.
Ralph Lucero said his family's loss was also the community's loss as Jeff left behind countless friends.
“This kid was just Mr. Baseball in this town. He was so popular with all the kids,” Ralph Lucero said. “Monday, when he finally passed away, there must have been 50 baseball players (at the hospital) that he'd played against and with since he was a little kid.”
Lucero was a two-time All-Metro first-team selection at Valley and a first-team All-State pick his senior year.
He was the Vikings' starting catcher but also a menace on the mound, a power pitcher who could throw the ball in excess of 90 mph.
Kuhn described Lucero as a “baseball fundamentalist who knew the game inside and out.”
“I once stated to a major league scout that I threw to professional catchers for seven years in my minor league baseball career, and Jeff was probably the best catcher I'd ever thrown to, and he was in high school. That's how good he was,” Kuhn said. “I believe if all the ducks fell in a row, Jeff Lucero would've embarked on a professional baseball career, either as a pitcher or as a catcher. He was capable of doing it at two positions, which is very, very rare in this day and age.”
Ralph Lucero said his grandson was liked as much by his opponents as by his teammates.
“Everybody knew they were in for a lot of hell that day (they played him), but they knew he wouldn't cut corners or do anything illegal, and that it would all come straight from the heart,” Ralph Lucero said.
New Mexico Junior College baseball coach Josh Simpson said he had the “highest” expectations for his new catcher/pitcher.
Lucero had transferred to NMJC last summer after one injury-plagued year at Eastern Arizona College.
Ralph Lucero said his grandson was a friend to everyone: “He was a tremendous kid, just a tremendous kid.”
There will be a visitation at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, followed by the recital of a rosary at 1 p.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 562 Atrisco SW.
Final visitation will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 1 p.m. Interment will follow at Mount Calvary Cemetery.
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